When I think of peer pressure, I think of work. I work at a place where regulations and procedures must be followed. However, I find myself in situations where people from other departments continuously snub their noses at certain policies. They expect me to be like them, and let things slide. Some of the people in my own department have already caved in to the pressure, and it's starting to affect things.

These people get angry when I don't give in to their pressure. They ridicule me, taunt me, deride me, all in an effort to get me to bend. In the end, they end up hating me, because I will not bend. I stand resolute and ensure that when I'm on shift, things are done in accordance to policy. Frankly, it's a lot of stress.

Why do I do it? Why do I follow procedures and regulations? Because when I was a U.S. Marine, that's what I learned. I even asked a general officer for his military I.D. when I stood guard at an armory, once. A major got all pissed at me and started to chew my ass out. The general officer chewed out the major and reminded him, "Those are his post orders, Major!" Then he said to me, "Good work, Marine. Keep it up."

Since then, no matter what kind of work I did, I was always careful to remember policies and procedures and to follow them. It was never a problem for me before, until I got into my current profession. It's tough. However, my pride in the quality of my work, and my convictions to do a proper job will not permit me to do half-assed work. So, I endure the peer pressure at work.